Sweet rocker Andy Scott loses £50k court battle over £2 CD

Former Sweet guitarist Andy Scott has been left with a £50,000 bill after losing a five-year piracy battle.

1970s Sweet: Andy Scott, second from left (Picture: Rex)

The 63-year-old, who still tours with his version of the glam rock band, sued Austrian Dietmar Huber when he thought he was trying to sell a bootleg Sweet CD on eBay for £2.

But this week Vienna’s high court ruled against Scott, who had original hits with Ballroom Blitz and Blockbuster, saying the defendant had done nothing wrong.

Speaking outside the hearing, Mr Huber said he was ‘flabbergasted’ when, in 2007, he got a letter from a lawyer asking him to pay £950 for breaching the group’s copyright. ‘When I refused, they took me to court filing an injunction stopping me from selling the used CD and demanding $36,000 (£23,000) in compensation,’ he said.

The case was thrown out during the first court hearing after Mr Huber was able to prove he had legally purchased a cover version of Sweet The Legend Lives On and that it was not a pirated copy.

But that did not satisfy Scott – who challenged the ruling.

Judges this week said Mr Huber, from Vorarlberg, was conducting a private sale and, therefore, no crime had been committed.

Sweet found fame in 1971 but broke up in 1981. The second surviving member of the four-piece band, Steve Priest, also tours with his version of the group.

Scott’s spokesman said: ‘Andy was trying to protect his name. It’s a very twisted case’.